


Red

by Exxxalted (Gandalfgirl579)



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Angst, Blood, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Gore, Heavy Angst, M/M, Nicaise (Captive Prince) Lives, So much angst, Sort Of, minor gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 06:13:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14490594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gandalfgirl579/pseuds/Exxxalted
Summary: "What have you done?"Folding his hands over his stomach-- They were bloody-- Nicaise simply said, "What you've wanted to do for years."





	Red

Laurent woke before dawn. Though Arles was night-silent, the wet, sticky warmth coating his back was thoroughly jarring. Limbs stiff with sleep, he turned over on his bed, finding Nicaise pressed tightly against him. The wetness, it turned out, was blood. 

"Nicaise?" 

Nicaise's eyes fluttered open, doe-lashed and too blue, meeting Laurent's in an instant. 

"What happened to you." It wasn't a question; It was a command.

Shrugging as best as he could curled on his side, Nicaise said, "Nothing." There was something unsettlingly smug in his tone. 

Laurent sat up, eyeing the spots of blood marring Nicaise's white sleepshirt. As close as they had been, he was certain his own shirt was ruined, too. Carefully, he asked, " _What have you done_?" 

Folding his hands over his stomach-- They were bloody, too-- Nicaise simply said, "What you've wanted to do for years." 

There came a desperate rapping at the door, and some guard or other called, "Your Highness!" 

Shuffling about so Nicaise was hidden behind him and beneath the thick comforter, Laurent replied, his voice perfectly even and no louder than usual, "What is it?" 

The guard, as it happened, was Jord, and he stepped into the room to report, "The Regent's been killed." 

Laurent's breath caught in his throat, coming out as a choked, " _What_?" 

"He was found newly dead in his bed, undressed and bloody." Jord didn't seem to be terribly upset. "The guards were dosed with an extreme amount of chalis, so they're useless."

Laurent's gaze darted over his shoulder to a moment, dancing over Nicaise before he told Jord, "Keep everyone away. I need time to grieve." 

Jord's brow furrowed. "With all due respect, won't that raise suspicion?" 

"Him being dead at all is going to raise suspicion." Jord seemed to agree. " _I need time_." 

"Yes, Your Highness." And he stepped outside once more. 

When Jord's footsteps stopped echoing out in the hall, Laurent turned his attention to Nicaise, saying, " _You're absolutely mad_." 

"I'm not." Nicaise slid off the bed, standing and stretching his arms high over his head. His night shirt lifted a bit, too, showing off the fading bruises that littered his thighs. "I was just sick of him, is all." 

Laurent couldn't blame him, really. 

"You'd have done the same, if he'd given you the opportunity." It was a challenge. 

"No." It was the truth. "At your age, I wouldn't have been brave enough." 

Nicaise's smirk also was sharp enough to cut a man's throat. Maybe it had. 

"You know there's no way I can save you," Laurent said, watching as Nicaise sauntered over to the ornately carved wardrobe in the corner, stripping his soiled nightshirt and replacing it with a clean one of Laurent's, despite the blood still clinging to him. "The Council is going to see you executed for this." 

Nicaise hummed, tying up the laces of the stolen nightshirt before he met Laurent's eyes again. Then, softly, he said, "It was worth it to be rid of him."

**Author's Note:**

> Another prompt from Tumblr! They just wanted Nicaise, so... Nicaise! 
> 
> As always, I must mention that I go by [aiimeriic](http://aiimeriic.tumblr.com/) over on Tumblr, and I'm totally open to taking questions and comments and requests and prompts there! :) Hit me up!


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